


Real LIfe is not a Fairytale

by burmafrd



Category: Snow White and the Huntsman
Genre: AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 20:34:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29739510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/burmafrd/pseuds/burmafrd
Summary: A little grimmer and more realistic than the fairy tale. No Dwarfs or Poison Apple
Relationships: Huntsman/Snow White, Snow White/OC
Kudos: 1





	Real LIfe is not a Fairytale

**Author's Note:**

> My take as how it should have gone. Not as romantic.

12 years.

From a child of 7 to a young woman of 19.

Locked up in a small cell. Cold in winter and hot in summer. The only one to speak to her was the Dark Queens thug of a brother and then only taunts and insults.

“No one knows.”

“You will die here.”

Or variations of that.

Snow retreated into herself; designing a fantasy world. Only barely was she able to keep her sanity.

To endure this required the sacrifice of much of what she had been.

A cheerful, mischievous but sweet child became a silent, cold woman.

Her cell was just down the corridor from the stairs; very occasionally she would hear some guards talking. She always became very still; straining to hear them. To know that there was something else beyond her cell.

By the third year she had learned not to react to his taunts; to stop crying or cringing. To be blank faced.

By the fourth year he had stopped.

From that point on she never directly heard a word.

She was kept on a diet just enough to keep her alive. What coarse clothing she was given just enough. And so on.

Looking back years after she realized the Dark Queen had wanted to break her; make her a mindless nothing.

Inside her mind she constructed a world; at first fantastical and bright and cheery.

But as time went by it got darker and bleaker.

All she held on to was this.

She was Snow White, the True Queen.

And she fixated on escaping and gaining vengeance for herself and justice for her people.

As the years went by she wondered if there were any that resisted the Usurper at all.

On two occasions she heard guards talking that indicated that some indeed fought. But not all that.

She heard other things as well.

That young women were brought in and drained of their youth and beauty to become husks of humans that quickly faded away.

As time went by she came to understand that the Dark Queen was as true an evil being as there could possibly be.

And in that realization understood why few resisted her.

She began to realize that if she was ever to get away she would have to do it; no one would come to rescue her. No one outside of those most loyal or most afraid of the Dark Queen saw her.

No one had ever come into her cell; but the brother still came to look at her. Several times he actually leaned against the bar to stare at her in a way that truly made her soul shiver.

She of course had no one to teach her what it was to be a woman; but she heard enough from the other guards over time to figure some things out.

And finally she came to the conclusion that the only way she could escape was to have someone open the cell door.

That meant someone had to come in.

Only one would dare do so.

Once he did she would need some kind of weapon. Something sharp.

She spent days examining every inch of her sell and everything in it.

Finally she noticed on her bed that it was nailed together; and one nail was slightly loose. She steadily worked at it. It took her over a month of working it every day to get it loose. Now she had a weapon; poor that it may be.

She was 15 at that point.

She knew what she had to do; entice the brother to open the door and come inside.

So when she was sixteen and beginning to develop she figured out what to do.

She waited as long as she thought she could; until she was just near 19.

She had probably developed as much as she was going to.

So she began to carefully plan to expose a little of herself every time he came by; which was once or twice a week. A little bit of her leg; a little bit of her throat and lower.

She noticed he was indeed interested; and took longer and longer looks at her.

It took almost a year; until she was exposing most of her leg up to her thigh; and the curves of her breasts.

His look grew hotter and hotter.

Finally the day came.

Lust in his eyes he unlocked and opened the door.

She laid back as if inviting him to have her.

Carefully exposing her thighs; and giving him a hot look.

“You want me.” He leered.

She had planned it all; everything. Moves, gestures, all of it.

So when he placed his hand on her breast she somehow found it in her not to flinch but to actually arch her body slightly to push her breast into his hand.

“You are just another bitch in heat” were his crude words.

He leaned down. Closer and closer.

Then like a snake coiled up and ready she struck.

She had carefully considered just how she would do it. What would cause the most damage with the least amount of risk of him countering it.

SO when she struck the sharp point of the nail raked across his throat; he began to rear up grasping for it.

She rose, knowing this was her only chance. Her second strike went for his eyes. 

She got one of them and he screamed. Staggering back.

And she was out the door; he had left the key in it. His arrogance finally costing him much.

She locked it and ran.

Snow knew they would expect her to blindly run until she fell from exhaustion.

But she had been planning this for years.

Down the hall to the stairs and she went down two flights; she knew she was on the fourth floor.

She paused; looking and listening; no sounds. He was still moaning and gasping; not making much noise at all; she could barely here him.

Clearly no one else had.

She then went to the ground floor of the North Tower; and opened the heavy door and peaked out.

It was not long after dawn; there was hardly anyone about. Something she had hoped for.

Snow had wandered the castle as a child; only her nanny with her. She remembered most of it.

She dashed across the courtyard to the South Tower; and opened the door and went in.

The South Tower was where the kitchens and laundry and store rooms were.

The store rooms were in the dungeons; one floor above them but one floor below ground.

The kitchen was beginning the day; busy and noisy. 

Snow crept down the corridors and began to open the doors of the store rooms; the third one she went into.

Very large casks of food and wine. 

She was relieved to see her very old memories had been correct; there was plenty of room to hide behind the last row. 

With that she went back out; room by room she opened and looked. Finally the other one she had wanted most she found; the room with clothing and cloth in it. Once again moving quickly she found a warm cloak and some blankets. Quickly she left and went to another where she got a lamp and a fire starter kit. She barely knew what they were; and knew it would take some time for her to figure out how to use them.

In only about half an hour she had scrounged all she would need to stay in the large store room for some days.

She made a soft and comfortable nest up against the back wall of the room.

She ate and then rolled herself in the blankets and rested.

It was fall and just starting to get cold; deep down in the castle like this it did not ever get either hot or cold. But feeling warm and secure felt so different; so good.

She slept.

It took almost two hours for him to be found; the carefully chosen servants that took Snow her meager rations came to the cell and found him.

Needless to say things happened quickly after that.

The Dark Queen was enraged; only the fact that he was badly injured and unconscious saved him from her wrath.

In only an hour search teams fanned out in all directions from the castle.

No one thought to look inside.

All believed she had found a way out and was running blindly.

Snow woke up when some servants came in hours later to fetch food for the afternoon meal.

She listened carefully; and learned a fair amount.

The Dark Queen was in a monstrous rage and all were terribly afraid.

Since only a small handful knew her true identity she was not surprised as the servants gossiped on why the Dark Queen was so angry at the escape of a prisoner.

Snow rested and hid and slept during the day and at night she wandered; walking as much as she could. She knew she had to build up her wind as much as she could; once she left the castle she would have to keep going until she reached the Northern Mountains.

It was there that the rebels, such as they were, lived.

She had thought out in detail every step. Stay a week or so in the castle so that all the search parties would be far away.

Build herself up.

Equip herself as much as she could.

She knew she would need a horse; with only a couple of months before winter she would not be able to walk that distance in time.

She knew she would have to appear as a boy; a young woman alone was under constant threat.

Her overhearing of the guards had taught her that.

So a hat she could curl her hair under was mandatory; and of course a slicker for the rain. Good shoes and boots. Warm clothing. 

And as much food as she could possibly carry.

Late each night she would search the various store rooms and was able to get most of what she needed.

She had to figure out some kind of a pack to carry on her back. But nothing she found helped her. She gradually realized she would need to make it to the stables and find what else she needed there.

It was risky; but thankfully when one went out after midnight very few were awake and most were not alert.

She knew to be slow and careful in the stables not to spook the horses; and of course it was hard because she had to do it all in darkness; did not dare bring her lantern.

Luckily her escape coincided with the waxing of the moon; it got slightly brighter each night and best of all it was clear with no clouds.

Just enough to help her do what she needed to.

She found some small saddlebags that she could put on her back. And others larger that would go on the horse.

She was gentle and careful as she greeted each horse she was considering on taking. Some were gentl and some were not; and she had to sort them out.

After a week she was almost ready.

But she took several more days to grow stronger and prepare carefully.

She knew her first mistake would almost certainly be her last one.

She knew a missing horse would be noticed; someone might come to the correct conclusion. So there needed to be a diversion.

A fire would do nicely.

Near enough to the stables that the servants and soldiers would hurriedly get them out; hopefully no one would notice one missing.

There was a store room for tack and other items just beside the stables; and it had a lamp.

On the night she choose she made sure the door was securely closed as she lit it; it had taken her several days to figure out the fire starter kit.

She carefully poured out some oil and dropped the lamp; igniting it.

Quickly she ran out of the store room closing the door.

And back to the stables where she had spent the last hour getting ready.

She led the horse she had chosen for its size and gentleness; and took him towards the back of the courtyard where the training yard was. And waited in a corner.

In only a little while she heard the first shout.

And the castle then resembled a hornets nest kicked over.

Shouts and yells and confusion; still she waited.

Then finally the horses were let loose and some led while others ran.

And the gate was opened.

That was the moment.

She was on the back of the horse; she had thought carefully and decided against a saddle. Someone might notice it gone. A couple of blankets and a bride; she had just began to learn to ride when her world had fallen apart.

She was leaning down grasping the neck of the horse; it had sensed the panic of others and had smelled the fire; as with all animals the instinctual fear of fire spurred it on.

Out the gate and on the drawbridge; past the moat.

Snow let the horse run by itself until he came to a stop, blowing.

She patted its neck and crooned to it. And the horse began to calm down.

Once he was no longer breathing heavily Snow directed him north.

It was just past the full moon and a clear if somewhat cold night; the winter obviously not far off.

At a trot she kept going; guided by the North Star.

The road was a good one; and they made decent time. Every hour Snow would halt and get down; letting him rest. She found a stream and let him drink.

As part of her pack she had scrounged oats to feed him.

With the pack on her back and large saddlebags Snow had as much as she felt she could take with her. Food mostly; clothing the rest.

She wore breeches; all to make herself look like a boy.

She knew that the roads were dangerous for lone riders; and a boy would be soon robbed. So she only intended to move at night.

Hide during the day.

Now once there was no moon she knew she would have to move during the day but she wanted as much distance as possible before that happened.

Finally she noted that the sun would soon rise; she observed dimly some woods off to her left and she headed there.

She found a copse of trees that would shield her and she stopped and made her camp for the night.

She had two big canteens; and carefully gave her horse water.

Then as the sun rose Snow curled up and went to sleep.

It was just after noon, she figured, when she woke up. 

She fed and watered the horse again and ate some of the dried meat and fruit from her pack. 

Then she carefully moved from the woods to view the road.

Nothing in sight.

She had intended to only travel at night but she decided to take a chance.

She knew if no groups of searchers came in the next day or so that they had no idea it was her that was in the castle and started the fire.

Off she went, steadily to the North.

It was almost two hours before she noted ahead of her a wagon. She carefully stayed far enough back not to be seen; it slowed her down some but not a lot.

She every few minutes looked behind her carefully.

As it came close to dark Snow looked around for a camping place. Off in the distance to the right were some heavy woods and she headed for them.

She got there just a light was falling. And found they were deep enough that she could risk a fire.

Thankfully it had been dry so getting wood was not hard.

And she was able to heat some water to have tea; a hot drink was so good.

She had deliberately only brought dried food and what would not need to be cooked. 

She had little hope she would be able to either hunt or catch any animals. She had a knife but that was all. She had considered trying to get a bow and arrows but felt she was too weak to use it.

Still the hot tea helped and Snow slept well. The time since she had escaped had been the most restful of her life. Even the threat of being found mattered little.

Snow had never fallen into the habit of talking to herself; so silence was what she was most used to.

Though here in the forest it was never truly silent.

She understood listening to the sounds of nature was a good idea; they would warn her if someone was coming. IF there was complete silence it was not a good thing.

Snow steadily traveled; a week had gone by since she had left the castle.

She had seen only a few wagons and no riders. She was now confident they had no idea she was in this area. The searchers had to be much farther north.

Eric the Huntsman was a hard man. His mother died at his birth; and his father blamed him for her death. He never knew love only hardship.

So he grew up very hard and tough.

Learned the woods and grew very comfortable in them; he was a natural at hunting and tracking.

His father told him to leave once he reached 16, he was on his own.

Not exactly a surprise and Eric was not slow to leave.

He gradually made his reputation and by the time he was 30 was well known.

That year he happened upon a small village and a young woman who smiled at him.

Eric’s encounters had to that point been pretty much of the monetary type; so this was very different.

She showed him affection and starved of such he quickly fell hard for her.

And married her months later.

They had less than a year.

One day he was out hunting and they came to take her; some soldiers just looking for some fun.

He tracked them down; but too late to save her.

He slowly killed them; torturing them horribly.

A few had already left the small band and for two years Eric devoted all he had to tracking them down; torturing and killing them.

This got out and now he was feared and respected.

The only good thing he had ever had; torn from him. He got colder and harder if possible after this.

The next year he wandered even more; got in brawls and drank more.

He was a big man and very strong. He had gradually over time learned to fight dirty and hard. He was excellent with a sword; better with a knife and virtually incomparable with a bow.

He took bounties now and then when it suited him; he never failed to bring in his man. 

So in some ways it was no surprise when the Dark Queen summoned him.

His story was fairly well known so the Dark Queen knew how to manipulate him; or so she thought.

“Bring this girls heart to me in a sack and a bag of gold will be yours; and I will bring back your wife.”

Eric the Huntsman was no one’s fool and had no illusions about the world or those in it.

He knew damn well there was no chance she could bring back his wife; at the most a golem.

But he let the Dark Queen think he believed.

He got a nice bag of gold out of it to hunt for the girl.

He knew he had to get far away now; once the Dark Queen realized he was not successful his life would be short and very bad.

So he headed North. Most thought the girl had gone that way; the south was barren and any towns and villages far away. To the West were mountains and to the east the same. The Northern mountains were far away.

Eric had no interest in why the Dark Queen wanted the girl found; and had no intent to find her.

They all seemed to think she was skulking from woods to woods.

He for one thought she might be a little smarter than they thought.

He asked a few questions about the fire that had come about and he came to some conclusions.

The girl had waited for days in the castle; and had set the fire to divert attention.

He bet she had gotten herself a horse.

Not that he really cared.

However, the habit of years gradually took over and he began to look for some sign. Steadily working his way north; he began to look off the road for places one could hide along the way.

After a week he found a camp in some dense woods not far from the main road.

Judging things, he was able to find the next camp at a distance he had figured.

Carefully looking at the soil he could tell it was either a young boy or a woman at that camp.

He figured he had found her trail.

It was not easy; she did not leave much trace at all except at her camps.

But he felt he was closing in.

The end of the second week Snow took stock.

She knew she was a good distance from the castle. And felt she could relax a little. The searchers she felt were still farther to the north.

And she had not seen any sign.

However her food was beginning to run low; there was still grass so she had some oats for the horse left; and she had been able to steadily refill her canteens.

But how was she to get more food; she had no money. So she would have to steal it.

She noticed a village not far away and headed towards it.

He figured the girl was running out of food; clearly she had stuffed some back packs but there were signs in the last camp that she was running low. No more tea leaves.

He knew she must not have any money; so the only way she could get anything was to steal it.

So he figured she would head to the village and hide during the day and sneak in to steal what she could at night.

He knew he was close.

It was not hard to determine where she was hiding; there was only one decent copse of woods around.

It was just before dark when Snow noticed things had gone very quiet.

And her horse had his head up looking towards the road.

Snow got up and took out her knife.

She heard a horse slowly coming her way.

She looked towards the fire she had just started; it was too late to put it out.

Whoever it was – nothing she could do but wait.

He came into the small clearing where he could smell the fire; and there was a horse and then he saw her.

She was not very big; dressed in breeches; but one could tell she was a girl.

She had a hunting knife out and was facing him.

He stopped and got down of his horse. Stood there for a moment examining her.

She was quite pretty; lovely complexion; and while it was getting dark he could see enough.

Somehow Snow knew he was looking for her. She was determined; if he was going to take her she would cut her own throat first.

She had no illusions about being able to fight him off. Even if he was not such a big man and obviously hard she had no idea what to do. 

He stepped closer to her and she raised her knife; not in any kind of way that meant she was going to fight; but towards her own throat.

He cocked is head.  
“And what are you going to do?”

“I will kill myself before I allow myself to be taken.”  
Her voice was cold and calm; her eyes clear and hard.

Well this was different. 

“You know I am looking for you.”

She just nodded.

“The Dark Queen wants your heart in a sack.”

She just nodded again.

For someone this young she was very calm.

“What do you know about me?”

“Nothing. Except that you are a lot smarter than they gave you credit for.”

She cocked her head now; her eyes never wavering from his.  
“What was your reward? Gold?”

“Gold and more; but I knew I would never get the more.”

“So now what?”

He admired her courage so he was honest.  
“I never had any real intent to track you down; just did it out of habit. I also have no wish to take you back.”

For a long moment she looked at him; then nodded and dropped the knife.

He looked around.  
“About out of food?”

She nodded.

“You have done well.”

She shrugged.  
“Considering I have had years to plan it I should have done well.”

“Years?”

“I was locked up in a small cell for almost 12 years since I was 7.”

He blinked.

IF that was true she had done very well indeed; with no knowledge of the world she had planned and accomplished much.

“I have nothing to offer you.”

He then shook his head.  
“You are young and quite pretty; so that is not quite true.”

She blinked.  
So that was it. He was making it clear; if she pleasure him she would be helped.

Well why not?

“Very well. I will be your woman if you help me.”

Got to give her credit for not flinching. Eric was a very hard man but there were some things he had never done; would never do. Abuse children; or take a woman against her will. She was offering; but because she had no other coin to pay. He found himself getting hard; he had no doubt she was a virgin; and he had a feeling she would warm his bed quite well.

Slowly he nodded.  
“So be it. I will pleasure you if you pleasure me.”

Deep inside something turned in her; a feeling she did not recognize went through her. It was not fear; something else.

Slowly he approached her. His big hands reached and found her hips and slowly drew her to him.

She had put the knife way and now her hands went up to rest on his shoulders as she looked up at him. It was clear to him she had absolutely no idea on how to go about pleasuring him; and he was certain she had never been kissed.

So he gently lowered his head; she raised hers and her eyes widened; and he took her mouth.

And he began to teach her how to please him.

Snow found herself on the ground; and her clothes began to disappear; she trembled and obeyed him. After all, she had all but sold herself to him.

Snow gasped as a hot mouth found her breast; she arched up. Quivering.

He was achingly hard by now; there was a lot of passion here and he would enjoy her.

Sometime later the small clearing echoed with her cries; first of pain as he deflowered her; and then of pleasure.

She was so tight and hot; and very responsive.

Snow laid there in a daze. She had never known she could feel like this.

Eric knew he had found himself quite a woman; and he would keep her.

Snow ached the next morning; and found it a little hard to walk. Yet she made no complaint; it had been incredible. 

She then realized something; she did not know the name of the man who had just claimed her. Made her his.

“What is your name?”

“Eric; called the Huntsman by many.”

He cocked his head.  
“And yours?”

She thought for a moment and then shrugged; what would be would be.

“Snow White.”

HE blinked. Then stared. Frantically thinking. But it made sense. Years locked up in a cell; the way the Dark Queen was rabid to find her.

Slowly he nodded.  
“Makes sense now why the Dark Queen wants you so badly. Everyone believes she killed you when she murdered the King.”

Snow just nodded.

“Since the age of 7 I was locked in a small cell in the North Tower.”

He shook his head; so easy to see now. No one really wondered why the Dark Queen wanted her so badly; no one wanted to know why.

Then a thought came to him.  
“First noble woman I have had. Actually you are the True Queen as you are of age.”

Snow found herself blushing so very slightly.  
“I am guessing I pleased you?”

He smiled.  
“Very much so.”

She took a deep breath.  
“I gave myself to you; how you want things are up to you.”

“You were going north; to the rebels?”

She nodded.

He thought on that.  
“Never have amounted to much; after Duke William’s castle was taken and he was killed there has not been much in the way of a rebellion.”

She sighed.  
“Any word on his son?”

Eric shook his head.  
“Why?”

“I knew him as a child; he was my best friend once.”

She was silent for a moment then looked him in the eye.  
“Is there any point?”

HE sat back and considered.  
“There is so much fear of her; yet she has made many hate her with her evil ways. What she has allowed her army to do. And other things.”

Grimly Snow looked at him.  
“Occasionally I could just barely hear some guards talking. I listened as closely as I could because it was all that I was likely to hear. The Dark Queen stays young and beautiful by draining the youth and beauty of other young women; leaving them dried out husks that quickly die.”

Grimly he nodded back at her.  
“That is known if not widely.”

She took a deep breath.  
“If it was known I was alive and free?”

“A rebellion exists on hope. At this time they have none; but if that was heard then it would build. As I said most hate her.”

Snow looked out over the horizon then at him.  
“I want vengeance for me, my father; and justice for my people.”

He nodded. Sounded reasonable to him.

Then cocked his head at her.  
“I enjoyed you last night; I want you again.”

She felt something deep inside her respond to that.  
“You can have me when you want me; I enjoyed it as well.”

He nodded again.  
“Sounds like a good deal to me.”

And so they set out.

Almost every night he took her; and she pleasured him.

With his gold and hunting skills they were well supplied; he would slip into a village and buy what was needed.

It was another two weeks before they found the first of the search parties; this one was rather obvious at a distance. Camped near the road with men clearly watching.

He observed this some distance away and pointed them out to her.  
“This group will be easy to avoid.”

He took her through the woods and it was so.

It had been very dry and not too cold up till then; the weather began to change; colder and wetter as winter grew close.

He was pragmatic; if it was raining hard they waited it out; the roads would be all mud and travel extremely difficult and tiring to the horses.

He had usually traveled a great deal lighter than this; but knowing he was going a distance he had gotten a small tent; just big enough for the two of them.

So on the very rainy days they stayed in the tent; dry and warm.

And he took her again and again.

She found she wanted it all the more that she got.

He laid there holding his dozing woman; and his woman was exactly what she was. It was interesting how relatively little they talked.

He was naturally very quiet and she had learned to be very quiet.

He understood the pleasure he gave her was all that she had had since she was a child; of course she wanted as much of it as she could get. Very passionate she was; and he had taught her exactly how he wanted her to pleasure him.

The fact that he had made the True Queen his woman amused him; but he chose not to think of the future. He would enjoy this woman while he had her.

Snow lost herself in pleasuring him; it was her escape from reality.

The next group of searchers was more competently led. Not as obvious. And more alert.

But still he spotted them far enough away to avoid them.

“We are about two weeks away from the mountains.”

“You think there will be more searchers?”

He nodded.  
“But I think very close to the mountains; near the passes where rumors have it rebels are behind.”

“Do you know which ones?”

He shook his head.  
“Will have to find out; there is a good sized town not far north of here. I will slip in and visit the taverns. Such information is easy to get there.”

She smirked if very slightly.  
“And you get something to drink.”

He smiled slightly.

Did not try and deny it.

So that evening Snow waited at their small camp deep in the woods not far from the town.

It was raining but very slightly; damp and cold she was in the tent wrapped up in her blankets. Waiting.

She was not sure what she felt about Eric; he was her man. That she knew in her bones.

But if this all worked out; a really big IF of course; she would be queen and he was a commoner. And never the twain shall meet.

She had not thought about it but there as a chance she could be with child soon; which would be a problem. A bastard would cause a great deal of trouble.

He could not even be her consort; so any child she had with him?

She sighed.

She doubted she would be much of a mother; she had never known hers. 

And not like she had any experience even being a child cared for by a mother.

Yet she knew an heir for the kingdom was very important. She had heard enough over time to know that the Dark Queen had sent out assassins to kill off any relatives of the Royal Family. There was a good chance she was the only one left.

And without an heir civil war could come; more grief for a kingdom who had already had a surfeit. 

Snow pragmatically knew she would have to marry and bear a child. She felt little about that. She wondered just how much emotion and anything else was left; the passion she shared with Eric might be all that was left in her.

She had already made decisions regarding her rule. The nobles might think they would run things but they would be in for a surprise. If she was successful in killing the Dark Queen her popularity with the people would allow her to frankly ignore the nobility. The people would support Her not them.

She was going to make major changes; those were intended to make sure what had happened in the past would not happen again.

And she was determined to make it better for the common man and woman.

Snow White had become brutally practical. She understood deep inside that the deprivations of her life had pretty much destroyed much of what made most people. Loving and caring and gentleness and so on.

She felt very little.

All she had was her duty.

Not, to be honest, that she really owed anyone anything. 12 years of solitary confinement since the age of 7 meant she did not owe the kingdom anything.

It was simply all she had.

But she would not be slow to remind anyone making noises about her duty that she owed no one anything.

Now as regards Eric?

Well she just had to hope that she did not get with child.  
But on the other hand she was not going to give up until she had to the only pleasure she had known in more than 12 years. 

When he came back he had the likely locations of where the rebels were.

She had been thinking on something and finally faced him.

“Teach me how to fight.”

He cocked his head.  
“Fight?”

“In all ways; from dirty knife fighting to that which you do in a battle.”

He blinked.  
“That would take years.”

“Then I need to start now.”

“So you are going to be a Warrior Queen?”

“Only I can kill her so I have no choice.”

At that he stopped dead.  
“What?”

“It is prophesized that only one of us can kill the other. Which of course makes me wonder her ordering you to kill me.”

He contemplated this.   
“She must not believe it or she would not have told me to bring your heart in a sack.”

She nodded.  
“She is arrogant and vain; so no surprise that she thinks her dark magic can defeat any threat.”

“But you do?”

“Yes.”

He pondered this for a while then shrugged.  
“Very well.”

And from that time on at the end of each day when they made their camp Eric spent an hour teaching her the basics. How to hold a knife; what to do with it. Then how to hold a sword; and so on.

In the month it took them to reach the Northern Mountains Snow learned a lot; and realized how much more she had to learn.

But she now was somewhat confident that she could defend herself a little.

They had only sighted one more group of searchers but as they grew close to the mountains Eric slowed down and was even more careful. And he told her they could no longer risk a fire.

Snow did not like no longer having hot tea; or the hot meat that came with Eric’s skill at hunting but what was was.

Though most nights they were still able to pleasure each other and Snow found those moments so very precious.

Eric meanwhile was facing the fact that this young woman was getting under his skin. Strong, intelligent, and she liked the quiet. 

She was very passionate but he noted she spoke little even when in the throws of passion. Gasps and moans but no words.

He considered what those years locked up had done to her. But there was nothing he could do about it.

He was well aware that their affair ended once they found the rebel camp. He was a commoner and she was the True Queen. It was just the way things were.

He thought about the possibility of her being with his child; but somehow he knew that would not happen. Not sure why he knew but he did.

Maybe he was not able to have children. Who knew? He had been with his wife over a year and she had not gotten with child. 

As they came to the foothills of the mountains Eric led them to the east for a while; until she could see what appeared to be a crease in them; he nodded towards it.

“A pass that it is believed the Rebels are in.”

He stopped early that day; and told her he wanted to take it very slowly and cautiously the next day.

IT was cloudy and felt like rain; or snow. It was cold.

Carefully Eric moved forward. It was near noon when he saw the first sign of a camp.

It was only perhaps a quarter mile from the pass. In a copse of trees – the only such around. He carefully got off the horse and moved forward on foot to where he could observe the camp. Snow silently went with him.

“What do you think?” she whispered.

“Odds are these are the best that the Dark Queen has.”

After a while he shook his head.  
“They are getting lazy and sloppy; the fire is bigger than they need and gives them away.”

Snow thought for a moment.  
“Well, they probably have been here at least a month.”

He nodded.  
“Probably longer. Getting bored and complacent.”

They both realized that they could not slip in riding; they would have to do it at night off the road and in rather broken ground. One could not ride a horse through those kinds of conditions.

Snow insisted on carrying her full pack; pointing out they might have to walk for a couple of days to find the rebel camps.

It was a half-moon night and clear; cold as winter had just about arrived. 

Snow was wearing her thick cloak with the slicker on top; Eric the same. The rubber slicker kept the heat in and protected one from cold winds.

The bad news was that one had to be careful about exerting themselves and beginning to sweat and thus get wet.

They took their time carefully skirting the very edge of the pass. Moving from low area to low area. It took almost a full hour to get to the pass itself.

Snow noted that it was much smoother; indicating that the pass had a fair amount of traffic.

They were out of sight of the searchers camp and were able to move faster.

Snow was able to keep a steady pace for another hour before Eric recognized she was dragging.

He found a nook for them to huddle into out of the wind; and were able to take off their slickers. They were both sweating some and he wanted to give them time to cool off and dry up. So they rested for an hour; Snow dozing.

Eric was alert; so far it had been too easy and that worried him.

Finally, he roused Snow and they headed out; able to walk more briskly they both put their slickers away.

He rested half an hour every hour from that point until dawn when Snow was clearly exhausted. He was barely able to see but found with climbing some a small cave that was out of sight of the trail through the pass. They cuddled together and both fell asleep despite Eric trying to keep watch.

It was midmorning when Eric woke up and looked around. First he listened; there was no sound except the soft breathing of Snow.

He estimated that they had walked about 2 miles into the pass. He was a little surprised at how deep it was.

He held Snow and dozed himself until she woke up. More for a bodily need then any other reason.

They ate dried meat and fruits; and drank water. Then headed out. It was partly sunny; high clouds that he was relieved to see had no moisture in them. As cold as it was and as high as they were going it would be snow hitting them if they had anything.

It was into the afternoon when they came to a wall.

Blocking the entire pass. Eric stood taking it in; it was clearly NOT natural. He listened; but could hear nothing. He could not believe no watch was kept. There was no path through; no way to get anything past it. One had to climb up the side and carefully find their way down.

Eric looked around on the other side; still no one. 

Snow was also worried.  
“Why is there no one here?”

“I don’t know; I am surprised as well that no watch is apparently kept.”

He looked around some more and then looked thoughtful.

“On the other hand, there is no way to get wagons or horses past here. All must come on foot with only what they can carry. No way to get a large force through here.”

She slowly nodded.  
“So maybe they feel they do not need to?”

“Maybe.”

The end of the pass was in sight; perhaps another half a mile. It was no wider; but they noted it was rockier and no evidence of traffic for some time. 

As they kept going Eric kept looking at the sides of the canyon; trying to spot any lookouts.

Just as they were getting close to the end of the pass they stopped.

As there were a dozen armed men waiting.

Eric sighed. Clearly there had been a lookout; he just had not been able to spot him.

At this point Snow pulled off her cap and let her hair down; then moved forward much to Eric’s surprise.

“Are you rebels?” was her blunt question.

One of them answered.

“Who wants to know.”

Snow stood tall.  
“Snow White, the True Queen.”

That clearly shocked the men; Eric tensed but knew it would do no good to fight against a dozen.

The one who had spoken slowly came forward; his eyes never leaving Snow.

Finally, he stopped close to her.

“How do we know you speak the truth?”

Snow shrugged.

“You do not. You only have my word and his. Though you should ask why anyone else would make this trip this time of year?”

He blinked. 

“There is someone here that knew the young princess.”

Her eyes brightened.  
“One of the Castle servants?”

“No, he claimed to be a friend of yours.”

Snow’s eyes widened.  
“William? Son of Duke William?” 

Slowly the man nodded. She could see his doubts lessening. And the realization that he could very well be facing his true Sovereign. 

Snow just nodded to him.  
“Take me to him.”

It was clearly a Royal Command.

And closely followed by the others he led Snow down the pass.

Eric to make conversation   
“I did not spot your lookout.”

“We make very sure that no one can. He signaled us the moment you climbed over the wall.

Snow was curious about the wall.  
“How long have you had that wall up?”

“We put it up about a month ago, finished I should say. Until then we kept watch farther up the pass.”

“And when spring comes?”

“We have not decided yet.” He looked at her.  
“You appearing will change things.”

Eric noted as they got farther into a valley a group of buildings appeared.  
“How many are there here?”

“Just under 2000. Almost half of them came in the last few months. With the Princesses escape the Dark Queen was more than usually evil; and it drove more to come.”

Snow looked at him.  
“You knew I lived?”

“We came to that belief; when it was clear how enraged the Dark Queen was and how badly she wanted you caught it became an easy process to figure out who she could possibly want dead that badly who was a young woman.”

Eric was nodding.  
“I felt the same way; and I have no doubt many more will come to the same conclusion.”

Snow was thinking.  
“Come spring we need to get the word out that not only am I alive I am going to confront her and kill her.”

At that the man looked at her.  
“You seem rather confident.”

Snow calmly looked at him.  
“I take it you have not heard the prophecy that only I can kill her?”

He was completely blank at that.

By now they were drawing close to the settlement; it seemed rather older; and Snow could now see farther on more buildings; and more than that she could see more being built.  
“Is there enough shelter for all?”

“We are building the last of what is needed now.”

Eric was looking around; the valley looked prosperous.  
“Enough food?”

The man nodded.  
“It is rich land; and we have been able to bring in a fair number of animals this last year. Cattle, pigs, sheep and chickens.”

Now a number of people were gathering in front of the cabins staring at the procession.

One of them, an older man, came forward.

“Thomas, what do we have here? Tis late in the year for more refugees to arrive.”

“Asa, is William nearby?”

The older man nodded.

“Have him brought here; supposedly he knows this young woman.”

Asa turned and called out to a young man who ran off up the valley.

Snow was patient. Standing there calmly.

She saw the young man coming at a trot with another man; not as young, right behind him.

She strained her eyes to see if she recognized him; he had been about 5 years older than she was.

As he got closer he was fixated on Snow and then he broke into a run.

“SNOW!”

And then he had her and was swinging her around babbling at how sorry he was that he had never suspected she was alive.

Finally he put her down and Snow was a little dizzy. But she grabbed his head.  
“William. You could not know. Only her most loyal servants knew I was alive.”

At this the others, truly shocked, slowly went to one knee. All of them.

William was on both knees and buried his head against her.

“I am so sorry Snow.”

Eric found he was jealous of how tender she was being with the man. Then took himself to task.

He was possibly the only one left alive of whom she had fond memories of before her years of imprisonment. Of course she would treat him differently. 

Snow took a deep breath.

“Please everyone rise. This is no time and place for empty gestures. Much must be done before we can ever reach the point of doing this again.”

Eric was impressed; from somewhere the Princess had emerged. That was a Royal Command if there ever was one.

And just like that all of them accepted that their True Queen was amongst them.

Snow asked for a small cabin; and when told a servant would be chosen she shook her head.  
“No need. I am going to be working as hard as anyone. I will cook and clean and do whatever else is needed. Come spring when we march that can change but not until then.”

At that Thomas asked her.  
“March, your highness?”

She nodded.

“Come spring we march south. Along the way we will collect an army. By the time we reach the Castle it will be a mighty host. Next year will be the last that the stench of the usurper will foul the Kingdom.”

Snow’s absolute certainty infected all who heard her.

Snow was polite but cool and calm. She did indeed cook and cleaned her cabin; but was not allowed to do more. She acquiesced as she understood they wanted it that way.

There were several dozen soldiers there; and right away Snow let it be known she was building an army.

“Is there iron and coal nearby?”

“Yes your highness; in the last year we have built a furnace and an iron forge.”

“Good. We need to make weapons and armor. Do we have those that can do it?”

“Yes your Highness. Several armorers and those knowledgeable about how to work metal.”

“We must make that a priority.”

Snow surprised many at how detailed her plans were. Her answer chilled them.  
“Planning on how to destroy her and whoever supported her kept me sane over the years.”

She pushed for the construction of wagons so as to take supplies and everything else with them.

“We will butcher most of the animals and dry the meat for our march.”

And since there were numerous veteran soldiers and even a few officers there she right away made it clear they were to train every able bodied man by spring.

Just a week in Thomas looked at Eric.  
“She inspires all – yet I sense a detachment.”

Eric sighed.  
“12 years in a cell by herself; only spoken to with taunts and evil words and for the last few years not even that. She is used to silence.”

Thomas sighed sadly.  
“They tried to break her.”

Eric nodded.  
“Instead, they tempered her like a fine steel blade.”

Snow missed having Eric in her bed; and the second day she managed to get him alone.  
“I miss you holding me.”

He sighed.  
“We both knew it had to end.”

For a long moment she just looked at him. Then she nodded once and turned away.

Eric so badly wanted to call to her but stopped himself.  
What was there to say?

They all worked hard that winter; thankfully it was a warm one there and thus they got much more accomplished than anyone thought.

Steadily the core of an army was trained; and equipped.

Of the just over 2000 souls there they had just over 500 in the nucleus of the army. 

And by May as the pass was fully free of snow, they had not only armor and arms for all but extra was being made each day. They had pikes for twice the number and even more bows and arrows.

It took four days to pull down the wall.

And then on May 8, they began to march.

Leading them out of the pass was Eric and a small group of scouts. 

They would make sure that the searchers were where they had been.

And Eric was a little surprised to find them gone; but then again maybe it was not such a surprise.

And so the army marched out of the pass followed by many wagons carrying supplies.

Only the older men and women; and mothers and children and a small group of men stayed behind. 

All told more than 1500 made up their force.

Luckily William had kept a map of the Kingdom and Snow and the others had poured over it.

“We march from town to town; past most of the larger cities. Gradually swelling our numbers.”

So they were not marching fast. Snow was very certain about this; they needed time to build the army and for word to spread.

And Snow had kept right on learning to fight; running to increase her wind and endurance; and in the end by the time they marched she had learned all the basics of fighting both in full plate armor and fighting armor.

Eric had trained her carefully; to use her quickness to offset the deficit of her small size and lack of reach.

And indeed the people did flock to the column as it moved steadily south.

One month after the beginning of the march the column was now 10,000 strong. And her army was now over 4000. Training them all on the march.

Snow deliberately only marched 6 hours a day and when it was very wet and rainy they stayed put. Giving the army more time to get ready.

One not so good thing was after the first month Nobles began to join the march. Now many of them brought armed men and supplies so that was good.

What was not so good was they seemed to think they should be in charge not the young woman who was leading the column.

She nipped that in the bud right away.  
“I am the True Queen and I rule. Those that cannot accept that leave. But I WILL REMEMBER YOU.”

That very clear threat cowed them.

Snow wore her suit of black plate armor all the time she was on horseback leading the column. Behind her a young man carrying the official royal Banner. Her shield was on her horse and her sword in its scabbard. And her helmet on her head if the lid was up.

The symbolism of this was not lost on anyone.

And every night once they had settled in, she worked out; and ran for half an hour. 

All could tell this was a true Warrior Queen. 

By the end of the second month there was now over 25,000 in the column. The army consisted of 10,000 which was nearly three times what the Dark Queen’s army was believed to be.

And Snow knew as they drew closer a number of the Dark Queen’s army, realizing the size of the host coming for them, would desert and run.

Snow called a council of War after the end of the second month. The spot they were at was near a good-sized river and she felt they needed to rest and repair the wagons. Eric and Thomas had suggested it and she listened; William as well felt they should rest some.

The large tent that was where any meetings was held was full that afternoon.

Snow walked in and all bowed to her. She went to a slightly raised chair that represented a throne and sat down and nodded to all of them.

She looked around.  
“By now it should be clear to all that by the time we reach the Great Castle our host will be irresistible. I expect a fair number of the Usurper’s army to desert. Do any disagree?”

There was silence.

Finally an older Noble spoke up.  
“Your highness; I expect less than a thousand of them to be left when we get there. Not enough to fully man the walls. With the ladders we are now building and the number of archers we will have, taking the walls will not be a difficult task.” He sat down to general agreement.

Another Noble, somewhat younger, stood up.  
“Your Highness, taking the walls will come quickly. Assaulting the keep will be relatively easy as we will have battering rams ready to force the Great Doors. It is what comes after that…” he paused.

Snow nodded.  
“The prophecy is clear that only I will be able to kill her. I have been training all the time since I encountered Eric for that fight.” She paused and her gaze, cold and calm, swept the table.  
“I WILL KILL HER. It will be done.”

She took a deep breath.  
“There is no doubt she will have golems and other evil creatures conjured to kill. Eric and William and a picked group will accompany me to force a passage through them so that I can face the Usurper.”

She had asked the old priest who had come along to pick this up.  
“Your Highness; My Lords, while the Dark Queen is powerful there are protections against her that can be prepared. Those with the True Queen will be ready.”

She now looked around.  
“I want four commanders designated – each will assault a wall. We will attack all four at the same time.”

It took some wrangling but they were chosen and their subordinates as well.

“After this the army will be split into four groups and each of you will train with them and get to know them and they will get to know you.”

Several veterans there were rather astonished at how she realized that things like that were so very important.

The march continued; the column swelled. The army grew.

Snow was very polite to everyone; but there was a certain cool distance she kept. And very definitely she was the Queen and commanded.

One day William sought out Eric.  
“She is so different. The Snow I knew was mischievous and cheerful and loving and caring. This Snow is so serious and closed off.”

Eric shook his head.  
“You have your father killed and then be thrown in a small cell for 12 years; your only contact with anyone a thug who taunts and insults you. Then see if you do not change.”

William shook his head and sighed.  
“I guess I have such a hard time; I thought she was dead and all I remembered was her as I last saw her.”

“She was a carefree child. Now she is the Queen leading her army to free her kingdom.”

A week before they were to arrive before the Great Castle William sought out Snow as she was ending her nightly run.  
“May I talk to you?”

Snow looked at him for a moment and then nodded.

She walked into her tent and told her servants she would converse alone with Lord William. Her head maid started to protest the lack of propriety but a cool look from Snow silenced her.

That was just another example of how she had changed. William sat there and took a deep breath.  
“Snow, you are so different.”

Calmly she looked at him.  
“12 years of suffering; silence; meager food; cold in the winter and hot in the summer.”

William blanched.  
“Snow you know I had once hoped.” He stopped.

Snow shook her head.  
“Once upon a time it probably would have happened. Now it will not. I am not going to be much of a wife to anyone. My imprisonment burnt me out, William. All that is left of me is the Queen doing her duty. You deserve much better than I can ever be.”

William searched for the words to try and convince her otherwise but the cool calm gaze she faced him with silenced him. He bowed and slowly left the tent.

Snow sat there and tried to feel something; but there was nothing. She sighed. She had not been exaggerating. She had only felt strongly when in Eric’s arms. And that could never be.

Eric was worried that Snow really did not care if she survived the battle; killing the Dark Queen seemed to be the end of her plans for anything.

He knew how much she meant to him; and had a feeling she cared a lot about him.

But it could never be.

Finally, they sighted the Great Castle. Deliberately Snow had her army encamped just a bare league away. And then ordered them to surround the castle; extend the camp.

Letting all in the Castle KNOW how badly they were outnumbered.

That night she held the last council of war.

William looked at her.  
“Your highness, we have had over a dozen deserters in the last week come forward. There is less than 1000 left in the Castle; all true believers in the Dark Queen.”

Snow slowly nodded. Then looked around the room.

“Once we breach the walls anyone left fighting will be put to the sword.”

There was some discomfort in the room but not very much. That was not an uncommon order.

And then she made her feelings very clear.  
“Anyone found in the Keep armed will die.”

That was the end of the Council of War.

Snow spent what she knew might be her last night trying to remember her father; and how it had been before. She really did not have much left. And then she thought of Eric. And wished for one last night with him.

Eric slipped into her tent; she turned and hungrily jumped him.

Their passion was nearly wild. Finally just before dawn, spent, Eric softly kissed her and stole away.

Snow smiled softly. If this was to be her last night it had been so very good. 

Snow was very calm as she was dressed; her armor put in place. She walked out of her tent and to the mounting block; got on her horse and looked around. Eric and William moved to flank her; the other dozen handpicked soldiers grouped behind.

She rode out.

She stopped – about half a league from the walls of the Great Castle and raised her sword.

And then swept it down.

And her army marched.

It took less than half an hour to take all four walls.

The Great Drawbridge was dropped and Snow rode in. Her army cheering loudly. 

Two groups of soldiers held two battering rams; at her signal they ran at the Great Doors. And the doors splintered and gave way.

Snow took a deep breath. And led Eric, William and the others into the Keep.

As she had feared, golems and other fearsome creatures awaited them. But the Old Priest had done well; the runes and blessings on the armor, shields and swords did their job.

And now the Thug appeared; Eric ran right at him and in seconds ran him through. Snow ignored his body as he fell and walked into the Throne Room.

Where the Usurper awaited her; calmly sitting on the throne.

Snow walked towards her; unhurriedly.

Suddenly the Dark Queen moved, throwing a spell at Snow. Who held up her shield; the spell hit and bounced away.

That surprised the Dark Queen; and Snow used that hesitation to dart towards her and then dodge to the right.

Avoiding another spell.

Then Snow shoved her shield towards the Usurper and at the same time slashed at her with her sword.

The Dark Queen laughed wildly. She blocked the Sword strike and tossed the shield away.  
“You will never win!”

And then gurgled because as she shoved the shield towards the Dark Queen Snow had drawn the dagger that she had coated with her own blood the night before.

And plunged it into the Dark Queen’s heart. 

And just like that it was over.

The Dark Queen quickly shriveled up as the stolen youth and beauty flowed away.

In seconds there lay an old skeletonis crone.

Snow took a deep breath. Then turned; Eric was right there along with William. She was sad to see that four of her soldiers had fallen.

But she knew it was a cheap price to pay for ending it all. She vowed to make sure all those that fell fighting the Dark Queen would be remembered. 

She walked to the Balcony that over looked the Court Yard; it was packed with her soldiers.

She went out and raised her sword and the cheers were thundering.

Snow knew her next words were very important and she asked for some help.

“The Usurper is Dead! The Land is Free! Now we live as we should!”

And she left it at that as her soldiers cheered.

Then she turned to Eric and William. One more thing to do.

“Get a stretcher.”

William looked puzzled but Eric understood and quickly called down for one. In literally seconds four soldiers and a stretcher came up.  
“Follow Me.” She said to them.

Into the Throne Room.

“Put that on the stretcher and then follow me.”

Her soldiers at first cheered as she came out of the keep then started to quiet when they realized what was on the stretcher behind her. It became very silent very quickly.

Eric moved ahead; somehow he figured out Snow’s intentions without a word from her.

At the West wall, there was a small gate with a heavy portcullis. Eric had it opened. 

There was also a small drawbridge across the moat that was lowered. Snow marched out followed by the soldiers and the stretcher.

The walls quickly flooded as other soldiers wanted to see what was going on.

Snow went to an area that had a number of small mounds.

And an open pit.

“Throw it in!”

The Dark Queens remains were treated as garbage.

Many thought that very appropriate indeed.

Then she turned to Eric and loud enough to be heard by all those on the wall.

“Everyone that died fighting for that garbage, gather their bodies and burn them here.”

The soldiers heard and cheered loudly again. A clearly vengeful sound.

William was waiting as several other nobles were as they came back to the Courtyard.

“We will find all those that committed evil; and they shall hang. Every one of them.”  
Snow was very hard and all saw it.

Then she took a breath.

“The war is over; now we must rebuild. All Nobles will be here tomorrow at Noon. I will then tell them how things will be.”

At that Snow went towards her horse; and mounted followed by Eric and William; and then rode back to the encampment. 

There in her tent she bathed and sat for a while thinking. She had not let herself think a lot about after; feeling she might jinx herself.

Now she knew that the really hard part would begin.

Not only heal the Kingdom but make it better. She had learned a lot of things in the march south; she had not realized how little she knew about the government and how things had been.

She took a deep breath and reached for a quill, ink and parchment. And began to write; it came to her; from her heart and soul.

After an hour or so she stopped. Looked at what she had written and nodded to herself. 

Then she called for Eric and William.

They both read and it was clear they were both very surprised.

William looked at her.  
“A lot of Nobles will not like this.”

Snow got cold and hard.  
“I will squash them like bugs if they try and stop me.”

Both men blinked; there was pure steel in her gaze.

William was unsure.  
“Snow I agree with most of this; and the rest I think I need to think on but am not against. But as I said some nobles will stand against this.”

“Then they die. The PEOPLE are behind me. NOT THEM.”

Eric had been thinking.  
“Let this get out to the people here in the encampment; they are your greatest supporters. They and the army. The Nobles who might think of fighting you on this will quickly see that if they do it is THEY who will fall.”

William slowly nodded.  
“Yes.”

Snow nodded and got up and called for her servants.

When they appeared, Snow handed her head maid the paper.  
“See that this is copied and spread around the camp.”

So by the time Noon arrived the next day virtually all had heard about what Snow intended to do.

She rode out in full Armor once again and led a mass of people not just the soldiers to the Castle. She got off and went into the Keep to the Great Room which had been where all the previous Royal Council’s had met; disbanded once the Dark Queen had taken over.

IT was packed with Nobles who were very quiet as she walked in and sat in the King’s Chair.

She looked around.  
“I am fairly certain you all know what I intend. I have had the Royal Treasury checked; the Usurper was a miser and there is sufficient there to forgive all Royal Taxes for the next two years. I intend to have a small Royal Household and as small an Army as possible. So the taxes even when they start again will not be anywhere near as high as they were before.”

Snow knew this would set them back on their heels.

“I am as of today changing two customs:  
All Judges will be appointed by the Throne; and subject to removal by the throne.  
And the Nobility will no longer be allowed to tax; they will have their rents and fees and such but no taxes.

And I am changing one law:  
All subjects of age in this kingdom, whether male or female, are now equal under the law.”

Then she stood up and slowly swept a very Royal Gaze around the room.  
“Let me be very clear. The People support ME. They support THIS. Those that oppose me on this will rue the day they were ever born.”

Then she walked out of the room.

Her coronation came two days later.

Her speech was short and to the point.

“All that I am I promise to the people.”

A month later Snow reviewed things and felt overall pretty good. There would be no famine this year; and arrangements were already being made to purchase from outside the kingdom extra seed. This next spring more land would be planted than ever before. Also good breeding stock was being brought in to make the herds in the Kingdom better.

This was all coming out of the Royal Treasury and Snow made sure that it was known.

She was still extremely popular with the people; and she intended to keep it that way.

Her goal was to make sure her reforms and changes were around long enough for the people to count on them and be very angry if someone tried to take them away.

While overall things were going well; she kept an eye on things. The disgruntled nobles realized they had no real power. Still she had William and Eric keeping an eye on them.

And another problem was looming; her marriage.

There truly was no one else left of the Royal Family so an heir and promise of stability and continuation was vital.

Snow knew very well who she wanted in her bed siring her children.

And it could not be.

William seemed to have accepted her decision and had been showing interest in a young lady of a somewhat lower Noble family. Snow thought the girl ok if nothing special; and she seemed unspoilt and nice. Which was good. She would have hoped William would be more ambitious but that was not her problem.

So who should she pick?

She really had no clue. None of the younger nobles particularly appealed and she did not want an older (much older) husband.

She sat one day and finally decided that what had to be done was best done quickly.

So knowing that she should be somewhat careful picking her advisors on THIS subject drew in some of those who had been with her from the beginning.

“I know I must marry and beget an Heir. I have no preference. So I need to know enough about enough of the younger Nobles to at least pick a decent one.”

The women of various ages she had asked were all now working in the Castle. And thus were able to pick up all the gossip needed.

Snow had coolly and calmly chosen a dozen young nobles as her possible consorts. She wanted them to find out all they could about each.

After they left the Kings Chambers (Snow had ordered the Queen’s chambers cleaned out and sealed) several of the women looked at each other.

One sighed.  
“Sad it be. All she has gone through and done and now she picks a mate like one picking the best tomato in the market.”

Another agreed.  
“We all know who she would choose if she could.”

There was really nothing else to say.

But they would all do their best to find Snow someone that at least just might make her content. 

A week later Snow was a little surprised but felt sooner was in the end better the women had their reports.

None of the young nobles Snow had chosen were bad; none even somewhat bad. Several were quite good.

Snow listened and then narrowed down her choices to 4. And asked for all that they could find on them.

Two weeks later they let her know they had what they felt was enough.

And they seemed to agree on one.

“He is kind.”

“Gentle.”

“Not attached at this time.”

Snow inside sighed; this is like picking a puppy one would adopt.

Lord Andrew Galt was from a fairly old family; and fairly high in the nobility; somewhat above the average. They had been loyal; and he had fought well from all accounts. Had been one of the first to join the march south. And from all appearances had pretty much put all he had into the struggle.

One of the women had a friend living in that part of the Kingdom and she had asked about him. It seemed all that came back was positive.

His family seemed without any physical or mental conditions; no mad ones and no seemingly inherited diseases.

Snow sighed; she wished she had some enthusiasm.

Snow did not schedule many balls or parties; she had promised to have a lean Royal Household and she intended to keep that promise.

But there were some events during the year that were traditional and the Fall Harvest Festival was coming up.

Snow made sure a number of young nobles were invited; she did not want to take a chance that someone had figured out what she was up to.

So the night of the Ball came.

Snow’s dresses were relatively simple; but tonight she went a little farther; her dress was cut a little lower and was a little tighter; the color complimented her complexion and eyes.

Critically she looked herself over in the large mirror in her bedroom.

She had gained a lot of weight compared to the half starved waif she had been when she had escaped just over a year earlier.

She had filled out some; and the dress made the most of it.

She felt she was pretty = certainly not the fairest of them all!

Fashion had languished while the Dark Queen ruled; but now it seemed to be reviving. Snow had noticed the last couple of balls the dresses had become fancier and more daring. She had noted the last ball that several younger women had dresses so low that she had a hunch their aureoles were all but showing. And they had been rather thin dresses as well.

As Queen she could never be that daring; what she had on this night was probably as far as she could go.

Her maids were a twitter at how carefully she was dressing for this ball, and obviously thought she was dressing for a man.

Snow smirked; she was. 

He just did not know it.

Snow really wanted the one she had all but chosen to really WANT her. IF that was the case she felt she would be able to open up to him more; give him more.

She knew she was looking her best as soon as she appeared. The appreciative looks she got from virtually all the men told her so.

Snow knew she had a reputation of being cool and aloof. Though thankfully the people seemed to be all right with that. 

Snow had continued to practice and work out; she was if necessary ready to be a Warrior Queen again.

She had a hunch more than a few noblemen were intimidated by her; which frankly she was fine with.

She made sure it was not apparent she was singling him out; but about halfway through the ball she casually approached him. He bowed and blinked.

“Care to Dance Lord Galt?”

He stammered a little but seemed rather eager. Snow felt a little better at that.

He was a good dancer; a little bigger than average; but as small as Snow was, that did not matter much. Solid of form; and he seemed to have some grace and was fairly light of foot.

Snow as the dance ended took his arm and guided him towards the refreshment table that at the moment was all but empty.

“What do you think of the Kingdom, Lord Galt.”

His reply was prompt.  
“Your Majesty, you have done better than anyone could have hoped. For someone who had been so restricted in living and experience. The reforms were long needed. I see a bright future for the Kingdom.”

Snow smiled. He had some enthusiasm; and overall she liked him.

She had decided to go on her instinct and that told her she was unlikely to do better. 

So be it.

“Tomorrow, Lord Galt, come and see me at noon. I have a proposition for you.”

HE blinked and then nodded.  
“Of Course your Majesty.” 

One reason Snow had decided on moving this fast was to forestall any heavy-handed match making attempts she was sure would start the following spring.

Lord Galt wondered what the Queen was going to offer him. Some kind of commission. He hoped it was not going outside the Kingdom; he loved it here and had no desire to leave it. If she asked him, he would agree. She had done so much; and if she thought he was the one to do something then who was he to disagree?

Idly that night as he slept he thought about her. She was lovely; small and slender and delicate; yet so strong. Only someone very strong would have been able to make it through her trials and emerge unbroken and calm and clear headed.

He knew some thought she was cold; and hard.

He did not think so. Yes she had been hard with those shown to have helped the Dark Queen but then they deserved no mercy. He was aware that a strong woman scared many men; he was not one of them. 

Snow slept that night; after thinking about he man she intended to ask her to marry her. She felt better than she had; she felt that maybe it would be good.

William sighed; he hated to do this. She did not deserve more pain.

Snow was in the study that her father had used to do the never-ending paperwork when her secretary told her that Lord William wished to see her; and it was urgent.

The moment she saw his face she knew.

“How?”

“An old enemy we believe knifed him from behind; Eric was able to swing around and behead him but he died quickly after. IT was in one of the taverns he liked to drink in.”

Snow felt frozen; a knife embedded in her heart. It was as if someone else was speaking.

“He never wanted any reward. Now he shall have one. Prepare a royal funeral for him. He shall be buried next to my father.”

William bowed and left without another word.

Snow slowly sat down.

She stared at the paperwork. Then she called in her secretary and told him she did not want to be disturbed until dinner. He bowed and left.

Snow went into her bedroom and laid on the bed. Then turned and began to silently sob into her pillow.

Her maids outside the door heard the soft sounds; there were tears in all their eyes as they silently left the King’s Chambers.

Two days Later a very solemn Snow followed the simple coffin as it was born by her Royal Guard to the crypt where her father was buried. She saw it inserted and the Cover Stone placed.

‘Eric the Huntsman’  
Hero

She said nothing; he would have scoffed at any words. She turned and went back to her chambers.

She felt so empty.

She had always known there was no future; they could not be together.

Still deep in the recesses of her soul there had always been a faint flicker of hope that just maybe….

Now there was nothing.

She had postponed the meeting with Lord Galt.

Now she let him know she wanted to see him.

Like many in the kingdom he had wondered at how close the Huntsman had been to the Queen. All those weeks alone together.

Looking at her pale but calm face during the funeral he had just known that she was burying her heart.

And he sighed.

Why so much suffering inflicted on one who deserved none?

“I am sure you are very curious, Lord Galt, about why I called you here.”

He nodded.  
“Of course, Your Majesty.”

She had thought she would be nervous or something; but now she was frozen. Nothing remained inside of her; only an empty vessel. She wondered if she should tell him what a very bad offer she was making.

Well no use in delay.

“It is very simple Lord Galt. There is no one left of the Royal Line except myself; the Usurper was all too brutally efficient at wiping it out. So an heir is mandatory to prevent a possible civil war; and to foment peace and stability. To be blunt, Lord Galt, I choose you to be my consort. You can take your time deciding on your answer; there is no hurry. And I want to make it very clear no one else will know of this. If you should decide to refuse. There will be no ill will or consequences.”

To say he was stunned was to say the sun was bright and hot.

Snow stood up.

“Good Day, Lord Galt.”

He sat in the room he was staying in at the Castle and tried to think.

He had been stunned; but then he had felt something very surprising; he had gotten rather hard. He was surprised to realize he did WANT her.

But this?

He now realized she had decided to do this before the Huntsman’s death.

He took a deep breath and thought hard.

Could he make her happy? Could any man take the Huntsman’s place in her heart?

And how much passion and feelings were left in her?

How much had been burnt out of her by all that she had been through?

He took a deep breath as he realized he was temporizing.

He wanted her. And he felt he had at least a decent chance to bring a smile to her face.

She deserved better than him but he was the one she had chosen.

He would devote the rest of his life into making her as happy as he could.

The announcement was made just at the beginning of the Holidays and it helped cheer all up.

Everyone was surprised.

But the great majority were supportive.

Snow and Andrew would honeymoon in the Hills to the East of the Great Castle; there was a small hunting lodge that was owned by the Royal Family; it had not been used in years. Without any servants but with her royal guard who would stay in a building close by, the newly wedded couple entered the cozy little manor.

Snow found she was comfortable here.

And she was quite happy to fix their meal; Andrew nodding; not surprised she knew how to cook.

“Those months waiting to leave for the march south I tried to learn as much as I could. All the things I was denied while imprisoned.”

Finally, later, Andrew picked Snow up and gently carried her to the bed chamber.

And began to undress her.

Snow found she did feel some arousal; he clearly WANTED her and she liked that.

Then Snow gasped as a hot mouth engulfed a taut nipple. He continued down her body and she cried out as he lapped at her core.

Snow White screamed as she came hard from his mouth.

And moaned in pleasure as he slowly filled her up.

The next morning Snow White smiled as she woke up.

This would work.

Andrew saw the soft smile and felt his heart filled to over flowing; he had fallen in love with his wife to be in the months leading up to the Royal Wedding. And now he had hope that one day he would have her heart as well.


End file.
